Taxpayers and small business advocates say they are watching with keen interest as President Donald Trump’s IRS Commissioner’s choice, Billy Long, heads for the much-anticipated Senate confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday.
Long’s supporters say they are confident that the former Missouri House of Representatives will be able to do well and restore confidence in the troubled institution.
They also believe he will defend small businesses because he is a business owner. After working as an auctioneer and real estate agent, Long currently makes a living as a “certified tax and business advisor” who is well versed in tax systems and corporate impact, according to his social media profile.
Critics say Long, 69, has no direct experience with tax policy. They also question some of his financial transactions and his professional involvement in controversial tax programs.
The senator has been investigating these concerns for the past five months or so, but Long’s hearing was delayed. Many other Trump candidates only waited a month or two before the confirmation hearing.
The Senate Finance Committee’s May 20 hearing precedes the possibility of a vote on whether Long will lead the IRS. This is an agency filled with recent allegations of political enemy confusion, mismanagement and unfair targeting.
Trump’s new government efficiency (DOGE) is scrutinizing the IRS. Efforts to modernize the IRS have expired 30 years, and the $15 billion overbudget told Fox News in March.
The IRS is also implementing leadership reforms. Four representatives have been replaced after former commissioner Danny Werfel resigned after Long’s nomination in December.
Trump said Long’s current business is focused on helping small businesses navigate the complexities of the IRS, with his announcement that he has chosen to lead the IRS.
The full name Long, William H. Long II, has run his own business for 32 years, the president said in a December 4 social media post. He said he and Long have known each other since 2011.
“He’s extremely hardworking and is respected especially by those who know him in Congress,” Trump said. “The taxpayers and the great IRS employees love to helm Billy. He’s the perfect ‘people’ who are well respected on both sides of the aisle. ”
Chuck Flint, executive director of the IRS Accountability Alliance, said his professional tax organization is closely watching Long’s hearing. He also says he has long been supporting him.
In an interview with One America News that he posted on social media the night before the hearing, Flint listed some questions he would like to see.
“What kind of structural reforms will be prioritized in the first 100 days? What will be done to eradicate perceived political bias in the IRS, and most importantly, to ensure that hardworking taxpayers get more legitimate processes from the IRS?
“We all know that the IRS is a broken agent, and that needs to be fixed,” he said.
Last week, Flint called Long’s “a great pick” and added, “He’s a fresh eye for the IRS.”
Flint said in an interview with OAN that the IRS is “the most distrust” among federal agencies “because they don’t have a culture that focuses on taxpayers.”
Rather than supporting taxpayers, the IRS harassed them, adding that his organization had obtained public records during the Biden administration that showed “political targeting” to businesses.
Virginia tax consultant Dean Francis told the Epoch Times that he has been closely watching the discussion over the last few months of long developments.
“I know that he doesn’t have much technical experience with taxes, but he understands what it’s like to be in the shoes of a small business person,” Francis said.
While enjoying the bipartisan appeal for a long time, three of the most outspoken Republican critics are Democrats: Officer Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Catherine Cortez Mast of Nevada, and Ron Wyden of Oregon will chair the Senate Finance Committee.
All three raised long-term concerns offering advice to consumers regarding employee retention credits.
The program was designed to refund business owners who kept people paid despite community closures and restrictions.
Francis said the program had unfairly black eyes when IRS officials alleged it was full of fraud.
Likewise, Long faces attacks. Francis said it was based on a “completely out of context” comment in order to defend the tax credit.
Inadequate management of employee retention credits is called the IRS’ biggest issue, according to a report by National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent office within the IRS.
“Countless eligible businesses” have been damaged, the report says as applications have been stacked while the IRS offices were closed during the pandemic.
To further exacerbate the backlog, agents put the brakes on reviewing claims based on “anecdotal” concerns that “anecdotal” claims could be fraudulent, the report says. As a result, the report shows that 1 million claims suffer from an average of one year.
If confirmed as an IRS commissioner, Long will lead an institution responsible for processing approximately 150 million tax returns each year and collecting more than $5 trillion per year. This is “from national defense to food safety, social security and Medicare,” which is 96% of the funds needed to run all of the US government’s operations, the report said.
The IRS has employed more than 80,000 people in recent years. This is the workforce that is expected to be reduced as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal government and the costs to implement it.
